'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' - Stephen King.

A dead body. Hidden secrets. Banks will find the truth.

The brutally murdered body of a supposedly well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a dry stone wall. But who would kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man?

Young Sally Lumb, locked in her lover's arms on the night of the murder, tries to find the killer herself. But her good-intentions only leads to more danger. And when Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called to investigate and soon discovers that disturbing secrets lie behind the seemingly untroubled façade . . .

From the master of police procedural and bestselling author of Standing in the Shadows comes A Dedicated Man, book two in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series. The next instalment in the series is A Necessary End.

*****

Critical acclaim for the Inspector Banks series, which became the major British ITV crime drama DCI Banks:

'A powerfully moving work . . . watch out for those twists - they'll get you every time' - Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series

'Top-notch police procedure' - Jeffery Deaver, author of the Lincoln Rhyme series

'A wonderful novel' - Michael Connelly, author of the Ballard & Bosch series

'An addictive crime-novel series' - New York Times

'A guaranteed page-turner' - Mirror

'Demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement' - Guardian

'One of the most authentic and atmospheric of crime series' - Independent

'The master of police procedural' - Mail on Sunday

'Near, perhaps, even at the top of, the British crime writers' league' - The Times

'Banks is genuinely human, rather than a hard man' - Observer

Aftermath was a Sunday Times bestseller when it first published in 2001.